Location
Leventhal Map & Education Center, Central Library in Copley Square
Date
Oct 10, 2025
Time
02:00 PM EDT
Cost
Free
Whoa, watch out for the earthquake! And the fire tearing through the city! Oh, and don’t forget the flood!
Maps are not just snapshots of a geographic location in time, but a culmination of data collected over years. As such, many disasters were not explicitly shown in the maps themselves, so what was being depicted on each map? How were these places changed after significant catastrophe? What was lost from each area post-destruction and what was left behind?
Explore these themes with us during this From the Vault as we delve into cities, neighborhoods and regions that either had just or were soon to experience a massive disaster.
This free showing will be hosted Friday, October 10 in the Leventhal Map & Education Center with a staff member available to answer questions. This collections showing event was specially curated by our GIS & Geohumanities Assistant, Kate Lautenbach. Drop in any time between 2:00PM - 4:00PM. No reservation is required.
From The Vault
The Leventhal Map & Education Center cares for more than a quarter million cartographic and geographic objects, including maps, atlases, charts, globes, gazetteers, ephemera, research texts, and data sets. With such an extensive collection, it is likely that many of these objects will never be included in exhibitions for public viewing.
Our latest series, From The Vault, attempts to remedy that limitation. From The Vault is a biweekly, casual collections showing of objects selected by Leventhal Center staff. These drop-in sessions do not include a formal presentation, though Leventhal Center staff will be available to interpret objects, chat, and answer questions.
